NHL Futures: Week 18 Odds Update

Are you ready for a race? With the Christmas break, mandatory minimum five day BYE weeks, plus All-Star Weekend all in the rear view mirror, the chase to the National Hockey League playoffs hits a higher gear now. With ten weeks left on the regular season slate, let's check out the latest NHL Championship futures odds prior to Week 18 action which begins on January 30, 2018.

Stanley Cup Championship Week 18 Contenders

Similar in length, to most Sin City visits, Vegas enjoyed a brief stay at the top of the overall National Hockey League standings. Bumping Tampa Bay off the top perch eleven days ago, a 3-0-0 pre All-Star Weekend run by the Lightning pushed the Bolts back into the overall lead. With one more game played than the Golden Knights (32-12-4) Tampa Bay (34-12-3) owns a three-point lead on Vegas who continue to dazzle hockey fans. Steven Stamkos & Crew have a test ahead though as they are on a run that has them playing nine of their next thirteen contests at barns on the road.

Getting out of Dodge, to avoid the Super Bowl craziness, the Golden Knights are embarking on a six game road trip of their own. Vegas is 3-2-1 during six contests as visitors recently and have pushed their road record to eleventh best at 13-9-2. Lurking behind the leaders, Boston (29-10-8) continues their remarkable run as the Bruins have not lost in regulation time during their last 18 games. The 14-0-4 run, which began on 16/12/17, includes five straight wins prior to the All-Star break. The Winnipeg Jets (29-13-8) and Nashville Predators (29-11-7) round out the top five overall.

Heading Into Week 18: On a 7-3-0 recent run >>> Pittsburgh is starting to make a charge.

30/01/18 Eastern Conference Championship Odds Update

Although they must be hearing the Bruins heavy footsteps behind them, Tampa Bay continues to lead the Eastern Conference race. The Lightning have pushed their NHL leading GF/GA differential to +50 and they are just one of five teams with a positive number in the East. Recognizing how good the Lightning are – all four of the top rated CSB bookmakers dropped the Bolts East title price week over week. That included Bet635 who now have Tampa Bay as tiny (+250) favorites.

Boston can moved to within one point of the East top spot – if they win the two games in hand they have on the Bolts. The Bruins streak without a loss is five off the 23 straight they posted way back during the 1940-41 NHL season. Washington (29-15-5) and Toronto (28-18-5) sit third and fourth in the East and they are both playing decent hockey. The Capitals own a 6-point lead in the Metropolitan Division while the Leafs sit third in the Atlantic – though 15 points clear of Detroit.

East Playoff Push: Seven teams are within five points of each other in the East Wild Card race.

Week Over Week: 22/01/18 to 30/01/18 Best Money Line Value

Odds Table Order: Teams are listed according to the current Eastern Conference standings.

30/01/18 Western Conference Championship Odds Update

While Vegas (68 PTS) and Winnipeg (66) are the Western Conference leaders – neither of them are a lock to be there when the regular season ends ten weeks from now. The Jets lead in the Central is tenuous at best as Nashville (65) is just one point back and the Predators, who are on a 7-1-2 roll, have three games in hand on the Manitoba Crew. Including Colorado (57) who have dropped two straight after a ten-game winning streak, seven Central squads are well within the playoff race.

More comfortably out in front in the Pacific Division – Vegas (68) owns a nine-point bulge on San Jose (59) and they are ten up on Calgary (58) who sit third overall. As we roll into Week 18, five of the bottom seven West teams play in the Pacific and none of them own a postseason position. Though they’ve won four of their last five matches, Edmonton is ten points out of a playoff spot. Don’t look much further than the Oilers NHL sixth worst 3.11 GAA to pinpoint the main problem.

West Playoff Push: Four squads, with 57 PTS, are fighting for the final West Wild Card spot.

Week Over Week: 22/01/18 to 30/01/18 Best Money Line Value

Odds Table Oder: Teams are listed according to the current Western Conference standings.

Online Betting Boards Feature Super Bowl LII

Just heating up in the NHL and NBA – the NFL playoff race has hit a final sprint as New England and Philadelphia are set to square off in Super Bowl LII. Kickoff is slated for 6:30 PM ET on February 4, 2018 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, MN. Bookmakers have been dealing with at least one whale during the first nine days of the two-week break as mega-bets have flowed in on the Eagles. One unidentified bettor, who also reportedly pocketed $14 million on six 2017 MLB World Series wagers, has bet “multi-millions” that QB Nick Foles will be better than Patriots pivot Tom Brady.

Some balls are more inflated than others eh? Still heavily involved in researching the final fight – we will post our 2018 NFL Championship selections on 03/04/18. Following a plan, that has delivered positive results in the past, we are at the Coin Toss and First Score of the Game stage on our Super Bowl Prop path. Wagering tips and picks will be posted here every day until the big game kickoff. World famous, the bookmakers below deliver the best Super Bowl Sunday betting experience. Get in the game anytime 24/7 and receive free betting advice on our Facebook and Twitter pages.

Last night the Los Angeles Chargers went from being the AFC's dark horse to being a legitimate threat to play in the Superbowl this February. By going into Kansas City and shocking the Chiefs with a gutsy last second, come from behind victory, they've given themselves a shot at the 1 seed but also shown that it doesn't matter if they're the 1 seed or not.

It's the best time of the season to be an NFL fan: the penultimate week (Week 16) is on hand with plenty of playoff implications for half the league including the once-mighty New England Patriots. Now is when everyone gets busy and there is plenty of betting action from the top sportsbooks. We look at three of the best value bets featuring three critical matchups that could shake the playoff picture.

With four consecutive graded stakes races on the Gulfstream card Saturday, Dec.14, the featured event and best betting race are one and the same as the Grade 2 Fort Lauderdale has drawn an overflow field of 16. Time to don the handicapping hats, and get down to business.